THUR MAR 19 2026-theGBJournal| The equities market closed the holiday-shortened trading week on a positive note on Wednesday, advancing 1.4% week-on-week to settle at 200,874.89 points, as investors reacted to a softer-than-expected inflation print.
Accordingly, the month-to-date and year-to-date returns strengthened to +4.3% and +29.3%, respectively. Market capitalisation increased by N1.77 trillion week-on-week to close at N129.13 trillion.
The improved macro outlook boosted sentiment across key sectors, with bargain hunting and renewed risk appetite driving gains despite fewer trading sessions.
Investor sentiment was supported by a softer headline inflation print for February, alongside selective bargain hunting in bellwether names such as BUACEMENT (+21.0%), ZENITHBANK (+14.6%), DANGCEM (+1.9%) and WAPCO (+5.9%).
Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the exception of NGX Insurance, NGX AFR Div Yield, NGX Consumer Goods, NGX Oil & Gas, NGX Lotus II and NGX Commodity which depreciated by 0.42%, 2.34%, 0.10%, 4.78%, 2.76% and 4.91% respectively while the NGX Sovereign Bond index closed flat.
On market activity, total trading volume and value advanced by 166.2% w/w and 62.3% w/w, respectively.
Sectoral performance was mixed, as the Industrial Goods (+5.7%), Oil & Gas (+1.5%) and Consumer Goods (+0.6%) indices posted gains, while the Insurance (-4.6%) and Banking (-1.0%) indices closed lower.
Trading in the top three equities, namely E-Tranzact International Plc, FCMB Group Plc and Wema Bank Plc, (measured by volume), accounted for 6.084 billion shares worth N40.661 billion in 5,570 deals, contributing 69.44% and 15.21% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
Meanwhile, the NASD market closed Wednesday’s session on a bearish note, as the NASD Security Index (NSI) declined by 0.39% to 4,114.75 points. In line with this, market capitalisation also fell by 0.39% to settle at N2.46 trillion.
Notwithstanding the negative close, trading activity improved sharply relative to the previous session, with volume traded surging by 43,404.43% and value traded rising by 2,108.69%.
On the performance chart, SDUBNPROP emerged as the top gainer with a 9.17% advance, while SDNASDPLC recorded the steepest decline, shedding 10.84%.
Looking ahead, investor attention is expected to shift toward corporate actions, with major Banks set to release audited full year results and dividend declarations next week.
We expect positioning ahead of qualification dates to support selective buying interest, particularly across fundamentally sound, high-yield counters.
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